The Hockey Writers » Tampa Bay Lightninghttp://thehockeywriters.com
Hockey News and InsightTue, 03 Mar 2015 19:34:58 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1Tampa Bay Will Look to Add Veteran Defensemanhttp://thehockeywriters.com/tampa-bay-will-look-to-add-veteran-defenseman/
http://thehockeywriters.com/tampa-bay-will-look-to-add-veteran-defenseman/#commentsSat, 28 Feb 2015 22:26:24 +0000http://thehockeywriters.com/?p=154373The Tampa Bay Lightning can score goals. That is known throughout the entire National Hockey League. Not many teams want to get into a track meet with the 2014-2015 Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning are currently first in the NHL in goals per game with a total of 3.25 per night. This is a result of their balanced attack and contributions from each line. The team should be confident in what they have up front for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a few months. What the team needs to do however is upgrade the defense. The team is currently 14th in goals against in the NHL. A bright spot for the team has been the rise of their penalty killing all the way up to 7th in the league. Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman is not one to trade away the future for a rental player, however I am sure he is going to try to add a piece on defense before the upcoming trade deadline. Here are 3 defenseman that could be key additions to the Tampa Bay Lightning and are salary-cap friendly additions.

Andrej Sustr has been solid for Tampa Bay this season on defense. The 6’8 Sustr has 8 assists and is a plus 8 in 59 games. He is seeing extra ice time with key defenseman out of the lineup.(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Jeff Petry

Jeff Petry could be a nice addition to the Bolts. (Nick Turchiaro/Icon SMI)

Jeff Petry is a 27 year old defenseman currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers. The 6’3 200 lb Ann Arbor Michigan product would add NHL experience to the bottom pairing of the team and would compete hard in a new system that would reenergize his game. Petry has 4 goals, 11 assists, and 15 points this season from the Edmonton blueline. With a struggling defense in Edmonton, one would think that they would like to keep Petry an Edmonton Oiler. If the team anticipates Petry could potentially walk after this season though, it might be in the best interest to move him elsewhere. It might take a 2nd-3rd round pick and a depth forward to acquire the right handed defenseman. Petry is a good skater that possesses a nice shot from the point and competes hard.

Zbynek Michalek

Zbynek Michalek would be a nice veteran addition and could mentor young CZE defenseman Sustr. (Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports)

With the Arizona Coyotes about to enter a rebuild, Michalek could be traded before the upcoming trade deadline. The 32-year-old Czech is top 10 in the league in block shots and could be a nice fit with the Tampa Bay Lightning. While Michalek only has played in 20 playoff games during his career, he has played in 696 games for the Wild, Penguins, and Coyotes. With the Lightning playing two rookies on defense currently, they might consider added a player with Michalek’s defensive ability, skating ability, and experience in the league. The team has a few offensive defenseman and could use a guy that could play in a shut-down defensive role for the playoffs.

Roman Polak

Will Roman Polak be the latest Maple Leaf to be moved this season? (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)

Another Czech defenseman completes the list. The 28-year-old Polak could be a nice quiet addition for the Lightning that would come at a cheaper price than Petry or Michalek. Polak is a descent defenseman that does not try to do too much during a game. He is a right-handed shot and would be a good 6th defenseman for the Lightning. A change of scenery could jump start his game as well, especially going to a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has 5 goals and 4 assists this season in 51 games from the Leafs blueline and has played over 20 minutes per game. The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be entering a rebuild, having moved Cody Franson, Mike Sanotorelli, Daniel Winnik, and David Clarkson already.

Tampa Bay is Getting Ready for Playoff Push

The Lightning are getting ready for a battle. A battle with the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings for the Atlantic Division title. The two teams that do not win the division will be facing each other in a grind of a 1st round playoff series. It appeared early in the year that Tampa Bay was the team to beat not only in the division, but in the entire conference. Right now the Montreal Canadiens are 3 points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning with 2 games in hand. The Lightning have to start winning and reclaim 1st place in the Atlantic Division, a position they were in for the majority of this season. Fans will see what GM Steve Yzerman has up his sleeve at this year’s trade deadline in a few days. Fans should not expect a captain-for-captain blockbuster that we saw last year, but a quiet addition that will help the team get points now and compete for a deeper run in the playoffs.

]]>http://thehockeywriters.com/tampa-bay-will-look-to-add-veteran-defenseman/feed/0The Governor’s Cup Takes Offhttp://thehockeywriters.com/the-governors-cup-takes-off/
http://thehockeywriters.com/the-governors-cup-takes-off/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 17:00:23 +0000http://thehockeywriters.com/?p=153593The Governor’s Cup is barely two seasons old, but the Tampa Bay Lightning already have quite the hold on the trophy awarded to the Florida-based NHL team with most standings points (based on the NHL’s current system for wins, loses and overtime/shootout loses) in head-to-head competition within a season. Launched prior to the Lightning and Florida Panther’s first match-up in October 2013, the Bolts have dominated in every sense.

In four games last season, the Lightning won 7-2, 4-3, 6-1 and 5-4, ending the season with eight points for Tampa and one shootout loss for the Panthers resulting in their single point. Even the built-in tiebreaker (based on goal differential) would not make a difference. Despite similar shots on goal (the Lightning with 117 to the Panthers’ 112), Tampa outscored the Cats 22 to 10.

This year, however, things may turn out differently.

The two inner-state rivals have only met once this season, resulting in a 2-3 overtime win for the Lightning and , based on the Governor’s Cup point system, holding on to a 2-1 lead.

Last season, the Lightning was eighth in the League’s standings with 101 points and second in the Atlantic Division; the Panthers were second last at a mere 66 points, resulting in a consolation prize of first overall section at the 2014 Draft. While Tampa has maintained their consistency as one of the best teams in the NHL during the 2014-2015 season (sixth in the League, second in the division, and 80 points in 62 games played), the Panthers largely surprised the hockey world with their jump to 20th in League standings and within two points of a wild card berth.

Those two points are going to make a world of difference as the two teams battle it out in their next three meetings in a previously one-sided Governor’s Cup: the Panthers desperately need every win. As their meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks showed earlier this week, they are true “Comeback Cats”, having tied the game in the third period, forcing overtime (and a point in the standings). The upcoming three games against the two teams will be, excluding the 4-3 OT win in 2013, the most competitive games seen in a Governor’s Cup series.

In the past, the match-ups have drawn meager interest, with average crowds for both areas. But that has changed as early as this year. The Panthers’ playoff race and the Lightning’s rise as one of the NHL’s premier organizations has led to increased interest in the Florida-based teams.

There is a very real possibility, should the Panthers make the playoffs, that a Lightning team that is consistently in and out of the top spot in the Atlantic would be their first round opponent. Both teams possess the veteran leadership, solid goaltending and developing young talent to make a Cup run – Stanley or Governor’s – quite a series.

The Cup’s aim, to generate some heat to the rivalry, might have finally taken off. The game on March 1 may be the first step of a much more competitive future – and increased interest – in Florida hockey.

]]>http://thehockeywriters.com/the-governors-cup-takes-off/feed/0Nikita Gusev Not Thinking About The NHL Yethttp://thehockeywriters.com/nikita-gusev-not-thinking-about-the-nhl-yet/
http://thehockeywriters.com/nikita-gusev-not-thinking-about-the-nhl-yet/#commentsTue, 17 Feb 2015 20:33:26 +0000http://thehockeywriters.com/?p=149106Russian forward Nikita Gusev has been drafted by the Tampa Bay Ligthning in the seventh round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, after his excellent performance at the 2012 WJC, where he helped Team Russia getting back home with a silver medal. The next season Gusev was traded from his home club CSKA Moscow to Amur Khabarovsk, where he started gaining some good ice time. Fast forward in February 2015 and Gusev, now with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk, is one of the KHL top young players, having scored so far 31 points in 48 games. In this translated interview, originally appearing on sports.ru, Nikita Gusev talked about the KHL All-Star game, being recognized on street and his future plans.

– No, it wasn’t, I played in Khabarovsk before, it isn’t hot down there too, all is okay.

- What are the coldest temperatures you faced there?

– Last year it has been -52°F, this year -45°F.

- At the 2012 WJC Team Russia won the Silver Medal, losing the finals against Team Sweden. Can we see that such defeats made you stronger?

– Yes, and also you remember them for long time. After all you don’t play the WJC finals every day. Of course losing isn’t nice, but you have to work harder to avoid further defeats.

- Are you still friends with the guys of the team?

– Yes, most of them play in the KHL, and even if we don’t meet often, we’re still in touch.

- Do you have any plan regarding the NHL?

– No plans yet. I’m still under contract, I don’t want to think about the NHL for now.

- What do you prefer, being a leader of a less ambitious team or have less ice time, but playing for a contender?

– To me it’s more important to play many minutes and being leader of my team.

- You started your career on ice with figure skating. When did you understand that it was time to quit?

– Oh well, it was a lot of time ago, in my very early childhood, I was two and a half years old. It wasn’t professional figure skating. Then, as soon as I could, I moved to hockey, I was six. I was a good skater already, differently from others, and it gave me much advantage.

– I don’t think I am that different. Maybe on ice I am more serious, but I still try to be positive, and sometimes I am even more than in my everyday life.

- What are your top priorities in your life?

– Hockey, family and being positive!

]]>http://thehockeywriters.com/nikita-gusev-not-thinking-about-the-nhl-yet/feed/0Cedric Paquette: Another Promising Rookie for Tampa Bayhttp://thehockeywriters.com/cedric-paquette-another-promising-rookie-for-tampa-bay/
http://thehockeywriters.com/cedric-paquette-another-promising-rookie-for-tampa-bay/#commentsSat, 14 Feb 2015 00:01:53 +0000http://thehockeywriters.com/?p=150455Cedric Paquette has been a pleasant surprise this season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Another young player playing better than expected is yet another reason for the strong play this season from Tampa Bay. Cedric Paquette is a very impactful bottom six forward as of late for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the 4th round pick in 2012 has proved this season that he can be an impact player in the National Hockey League. The 21-year-old is currently day-to-day with an upper body injury and in the Lightning’s OT loss to the Nashville Predators he was missed in the lineup. He also missed the Lightning’s game yesterday against the St. Louis Blues, a 6-3 loss. Paquette had previously scored 5 goals and 1 assist in his last 8 games. This was highlighted by his career-game against the Detroit Red Wings on January 29th.

Paquette has been a solid depth player this season for the Tampa Bay Lightning.(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Paquette’s 1st Career Hatty Leads Tampa Bay

Cedric Paquette scored his first career hat trick against the Detroit Red Wings at Amalie Arena on January 29th in a pivotal battle in the Atlantic Division.His first goal was off of his own rebound in front on the backhand to give the Lightning the lead early into the 1st period. His second goal was a thing of beauty at the end of the 1st period as he picked up the puck off the half boards, quickly crossed over to around the faceoff dot, and fired the puck with a wicked wrister that beat Petr Mrazek glove side top shelf. While his first two goals gave the Lightning one goal leads his hat trick goal put the game away. That goal would come shorthanded as Paquette took control of the puck at his own blueline and skated down the ice for a 2-on-1 with Brian Boyle. With the defenseman playing for the pass, Paquette fired the puck at the exact same spot as his second goal and scored yet again on the short side, however this time with a low shot. The hats onto the ice followed his 3rd goal of the game at Amalie Arena for the 21-year-old Paquette as he gave the Lightning a comfortable 4-1 lead.

Paquette has had a lot of different linemates this season and in this game he played with Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn.

Cedric Paquette’s Strengths as a Hockey Player

Paquette is a gritty two-way forward with a lot of potential and has surprised many in the Lightning organization this season. He has good size and can play center and wing. Paquette is listed on the Lightning website at 6’1 and 198 pounds. He is not afraid to make an impact with his goal-scoring ability or to set the tone physically. That was evident when he made a huge hit on Alec Martinez of the Los Angeles Kings last week to try to spark his team. Paquette has 11 goals, 6 assists, 17 points, and is a +5 this season in 45 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hopefully he can get back into the lineup soon and continue to make plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After spending the better part of a decade developing Jeff Petry into a National Hockey League defenceman, it appears as though the Edmonton Oilers have reached the point of no return with the 2006 second round pick.

Considering Petry is about to enter prime of his career and is coming off a three-year run in which he has been this organization’s best blueliner in each and every one of those seasons, it is rather perplexing to see just how comfortable Craig MacTavish and company appear to be with allowing him to leave town.

While there is no question the Oilers were always going to have to pay in order to keep the twenty-seven year old as part of the long-term mix, they have never shown any real interest in going down that path. Why you ask? That is a very good question and one that becomes even more confusing when you look at the sort of money this organization decided to throw at a pair of veteran rearguards who were essentially nothing more than stop gaps.

Spending Wisely

MacT had no issue with handing Nikita Nikitin a two-year deal worth $9 million last summer, nor did he have a problem with signing Andrew Ference to a four-year/ $13 million extension as a free agent in 2013. While the former has never really shown to be that good of a player, the latter is clearly on the downside of his career and yet it was a risk this management team felt was necessary in order to help this group take that next step in their overall development.

Clearly it has not produced the desired results and now MacTavish appears to be more than ok with trading away a guy this organization has spent countless hours on in turning into a top four defenceman, for nothing more than spare parts. In essence we are talking about a second round draft pick or at absolute best, a late first round selection in this summer’s draft. A curious decision when one takes into account Edmonton’s many failed attempts at upgrading their blueline from outside the organization.

Unless you have not been paying attention, finding quality NHL defenceman is next to impossible and acquiring a right-handed puck-mover, is even less likely. Funny thing is, Petry falls into both of those categories and yet the Oilers have made no real attempt at inking him to an extension last summer and because of it, the two sides find themselves in the predicament they currently in.

$5M Per Looks To Be The Magic Number

With pending unrestricted free agency staring both the player and organization in the face, the only way the Oilers could possibly right their miscalculation of the situation, is to treat the American blueliner as if he were a free agent they were going after on July 1st.

Any hopes of the player taking some sort of “hometown discount” are nothing more than a pipe dream at this point. The moment this team signed Nikitin to $4.5 million deal, was the very moment Jeff Petry had all the leverage he needed to ask for a multi-year deal that would see him take home a number somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5 million a season.

While some may think coughing up that sort of cash for a guy like Petry to be frankly absurd, when one takes into consideration his ability, age and contract status, it is actually anything but. As of this moment, there is total of thirty-two defencemen who are scheduled to have a cap hit of at least $5 million for the 2015-16 season:

At first glance, the list includes many of the names we would all expect to see and not surprisingly, it allows has a handful of names on it that can only leave one shaking their head at in disbelief. While there are some obvious omissions on the list, most notably Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano, many of those players will be cashing in over the next year or two with a rather substantial hike in pay.

Had the Oilers been proactive and actually made signing Petry to a long-term extension a priority, say prior to the start of 2013-14 campaign or instead of chasing after Nikitin heading into 2012-15, they could have likely inked him to a deal that would have cost them $4 million plus on an annual basis. By not doing that and allowing this to drag out to the degree they have, MacTavish would now have to pay a premium to keep him around for the long-term.

Eakins Out, Nelson In

In my mind, if Dallas Eakins were still the head coach of this team there would be zero chance of Petry signing on the dotted line prior to the March 2nd Trade Deadline. It is no secret the former Toronto Marlies bench boss was never really enamoured with the style of game the Ann Arbour, Michigan native brought on a nightly basis and his decision to scratch him in the Oilers third game of the season against the Los Angeles Kings was likely the final straw.

That all changed when Todd Nelson took over as coach. While Eakins may not have been a fan, the former Oklahoma City Barons head coach most certainly is and we have seen a completely different player from the moment the change was made. Sometimes all a guy needs is to know his coach believes in him and the fact Nelson helped Petry develop at the American Hockey League level before making the jump to the NHL on a permanent basis, there was already a relationship between the two in place.

Now does that mean the twenty-seven year old will instantly agree to sign a team friendly extension? Not at all but should the Oilers general manager happen to pick up his phone and put a call into the player’s agent and offer a four-year deal at a $5.5 million cap hit, something tells me there might be more than a little interest on the other end.

Petry Can Call His Own Shot

While it may be a slight overpay, it would not be a gross overpay and let’s not forget, this mess is entirely on the organization. The moment Petry agreed to a one year deal that is essentially paying the American blueliner $3.1 million, it left him in complete control of his future. We have all heard the rumours of how the Detroit Red Wings would love to add the former Michigan State Spartans rearguard into their “program” but if the plan is to sign long-term, he would certainly have to leave some money on the table.

It is no secret the Tampa Bay Lightning have been eyeing Petry as a potential deadline target for some time now and apparently the Calgary Flames are considering throwing their hat into the ring as well. We all know the Los Angeles Kings are desperately searching for a player who would upgrade their backend and god knows Petry would look real good on that blueline.

Clearly there is interest in the player heading to the deadline and that will still be the case come July 1st. However, with the salary cap essentially staying the same for 2015-16, the chances of a “good” team being able to fork out a long-term deal at north of $5 million could be limited. With that said, Craig MacTavish could give Jeff Petry twenty-two million reasons to forgo the entire process.

This past week the Tampa Bay Lightning made the choice to call up Andrei Vasilevskiy from the Syracuse Crunch.

The decision was not made lightly as it saw beloved veteran goaltender Evgeni Nabokov waived. Coach Jon Cooper likened it to cut-down day during training camp. Nabokov cleared the waivers, but his future remains uncertain.

After 14 seasons in the NHL, Nabokov had become a backup goalie for the first time in his career. In the 11 games he did play with Tampa he had a sad 3-6-2 record. In his last game on December 11 he stopped 29-of-30 shots against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It has become a general consensus that being a backup is what led to his poor play. In 686 NHL games he went 353-227-31 between San Jose, the Islanders, and Tampa. Throughout most of his career he had not played fewer than 40 games, so going weeks between starts was extremely difficult for the veteran.

Going into his contract with Tampa he knew that he was going to play backup to Ben Bishop. The idea may have seemed right in concept. It was no secret that Nabokov was not happy when he went to the Islanders. He almost did not even report to training camp because he wanted to play with a team who was an actual Stanley Cup contender; at that time the Isles were the second worst in the league. Coming to the Lightning, even as a backup did allow for him to be on a contending yet. Yet, when push came to shove, actually having to be sitting on the bench was a different story.

Regardless, he was a well-liked member of the team, and their resident jokester. He was wise beyond his years and always there not only to help a fellow player, but the coaches as well.

“He’s been such a good guy for me, such a good teammate, always has a smile on his face, always fun to be around,” Lightning goalie Ben Bishop said. “Whenever you lose a good locker room guy or goalie partner, every year you kind of build friendships with the guys you’re with and it was no different this year. I got along really well with him. He’d give me insight here and there which really helped out.”

Even Coach Cooper had learned a thing or two for having Nabokov on his team.

“He’d seen and done everything,” Cooper said. “He’s seen things I haven’t seen yet. He was helping not only our players but he helped me in areas. He opens your eyes to things. You look at things differently because of his perspective.”

What’s Next for Nabokov

(Dave Nelson/wikimedia)

At the age of thirty-nine his future in the NHL is definetly up in the air. He could play in Syracuse or he could retire. If he chooses to call it quits, he can look back over his professional career with pleasure. He has been a well-known and well-loved player, and got to spend much of his career with the team that drafted him and the city where he met his wife of over ten years.

Another option would be to return to Russia and play in the KHL. In 2010 he had signed a contract to play with SKA St. Petersburg that was terminated due to ‘family reasons.’ Leaving the NHL could possibly mean playing with a professional team overseas who would be more than pleased to have a goalie of his caliber on their roster.

On Monday, February 9th, the Lightning traded Nabokov to the Sharks for future considerations. Nabokov will make an announcement on Wednesday regarding his future in the league. This is not the first time a player has been traded back to the team that drafted him so he could retire with them.

Vasilevskiy Gets the Call-Up

Vasilevskiy arrived in Tampa just in time to hop on the plane to St. Louis with the team on Monday. He knew when he was called up that he would be getting the starts, and the first of those came on Thursday’s game in Dallas. ‘Vassy,’ made an impressive 33 saves in the 5-3 win over the Stars. Even in the games he played with the the Lightning earlier this season, the 20 year-old heI’m ld a 4-1 record, now 5-1. In that one loss he stopped a rookie record of 45 shots.

TheRudsian made 19 starts while playing with the Crunch and held a 14-5-0 record. Out of 25 games, however, he has two shutouts, a .919 save percentage, and a 2.38 goals-allowed average. There really was no question that when the Lightning had to make the choice to make goalie changes that the Tyumen, Russia native was going to get the nod.

The twenty year old has already played in three U-18 WJHC’s, two WJHC’s, and one IIHF World Championship where he won the gold with Team Russia. He went 2-0 in the two IIHF games he played in.

With Vasilevskiy as Bishop’s backup the Lightning should have no worries in the goalie department. As a third choice the Lightning have Kristers Gudlevskis, the Latvian who was the breakout star of the 2014 Olympics. While he did lose the two games he started in, he was given an experience goalies his age dream of on the Olympic stage. In 24 games with the Crunch he has gone 15-6-1.

It will be exciting to see what the future has for not only Evgeni Nabokov, but how Andrei Vasilevskiy’s career pans out now that he is playing on the big stage.